Form 26AS is your Annual Tax Credit Statement, maintained on the TRACES portal and linked to your PAN. It shows the TDS deducted by employers, banks and others, TCS collected, advance and self-assessment tax paid and refunds issued. From AY 2023-24 it carries only tax-credit data in four parts — high-value transactions (SFT), interest and dividend detail now sit in the AIS. You claim TDS credit in your ITR from Form 26AS, so always reconcile it before filing.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 introduces Form 168 (Section 510 / Rule 245) to replace Form 26AS from AY 2027-28 (tax year 2026-27). For the return you file now — AY 2026-27 — Form 26AS is still the statement you use. Nothing changes in how you download or reconcile it this year.
What Form 26AS Contains Now
Since AY 2023-24 the government simplified Form 26AS to hold only tax-credit information. The four parts you will see today are:
| Part | What it shows | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Part A | TDS deducted on your income — salary, interest, professional fees, rent, etc. | Employers, banks, tenants, other deductors |
| Part B | TCS (Tax Collected at Source) collected from you | Sellers/collectors (car dealers, forex, LRS, etc.) |
| Part C | Tax paid by you — advance tax, self-assessment tax, demand payment | You / your bank (challan) |
| Part D | Refunds issued during the year | Income Tax Department |
SFT high-value transactions, salary break-up, savings interest, dividends, securities and mutual-fund trades were moved out of 26AS into the AIS.
If TDS was deducted from your income but does not show in Form 26AS, the deductor has not deposited it (or filed a wrong PAN). Do not claim credit for it in your ITR — that creates a mismatch and a tax demand. Chase the deductor to correct their TDS return first.
Form 26AS vs AIS vs TIS
Taxpayers now deal with three statements. Form 26AS is the narrow tax-credit record; the AIS is the wide income-and-transaction picture; TIS is the short summary that pre-fills your return.
| Statement | What it covers | Where | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 26AS | TDS, TCS, tax paid, refunds only | TRACES portal | Claiming TDS credit |
| AIS | Everything in 26AS + interest, dividends, SFT, securities, property, foreign remittance | e-Filing portal | Reviewing all reported income + feedback |
| TIS | Aggregated summary of AIS | e-Filing portal | Auto-filling the ITR |
TDS credit is claimed from Form 26AS, not the AIS. Reconcile 26AS, AIS and Form 16/16A before you file.
Mismatch between your 26AS, AIS and Form 16? Let a CA reconcile it.
Get ITR Filing Help →How to Download Form 26AS
- 1Log inincometax.gov.in with PAN + password
- 2Open 26ASe-File → Income Tax Returns → View Form 26AS
- 3TRACES redirectAgree and continue to the TRACES portal
- 4Pick yearSelect the Assessment Year (e.g. AY 2026-27)
- 5DownloadView online or download PDF / text / HTML
The Form 26AS PDF is password-protected — open it with your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format. Many banks with TRACES integration also let you view 26AS directly from net banking.
- PAN-based login to incometax.gov.in
- Correct Assessment Year selected
- TDS in 26AS matches Form 16 (salary)
- TDS in 26AS matches Form 16A (other income)
- Advance / self-assessment tax challans reflected
- AIS reviewed for any extra income
- Refund entries checked in Part D
- Any mismatch raised with the deductor
Income earned in FY 2025-26 is assessed in AY 2026-27. When you open 26AS for this year’s return, select Assessment Year 2026-27 — picking the wrong year is the most common reason people think their TDS is “missing”.
Reconcile 26AS Before Filing Your ITR
Reconciliation means matching the tax credits in Form 26AS against your own records so the credit you claim in the ITR is not disallowed.
✓Claim the credit when
- The TDS entry appears in Form 26AS Part A / A2
- It matches your Form 16 or Form 16A
- The deductor’s PAN/TAN and amount are correct
- Advance/self-assessment tax shows in Part C
!Hold off / fix first when
- TDS is on your payslip but missing from 26AS
- The amount in 26AS is lower than deducted
- The entry sits under the wrong Assessment Year
- AIS shows income the deductor never reported
Once 26AS, AIS and your Form 16/16A agree, you can file with confidence. See our how to file ITR guide, or let TaxClue handle the whole reconciliation and filing.
Want your TDS reconciled and your return filed accurately?
File ITR with TaxClue →- Form 26AS & e-filing: incometax.gov.in
- TDS/TCS credit & downloads: TRACES (tdscpc.gov.in)
- 26AS simplified to tax-credit data — effective AY 2023-24
- Form 168 replacing 26AS: Income-tax Act 2025, s.510 / Rule 245 (from AY 2027-28)
Disclaimer: This guide is general information based on the law and notifications in force when it was last updated. It is not professional advice for your case — rates, thresholds and due dates change, so check the current position or speak to our CA team before you act on it.